"Hiss..."
Only after the people of the Zheng Kingdom withdrew did Xianyu send cultivators out to gather the bodies beyond the pass.
At the sight of several hundred corpses packed tightly into a row, everyone watching could not help drawing a sharp breath.
Apart from the neat, smooth cuts across their waists, there was not a single other wound. It showed that over a hundred cultivators had died almost simultaneously, without even a moment to react or struggle. It was truly horrifying.
Although the deaths of nine Foundation Establishment cultivators were more shocking, many present had not witnessed them firsthand and inevitably harbored doubts.
But now, faced with the collected bodies of their countrymen, every last one was speechless. All the cultivators present possessed keen discernment and knew they could not accomplish such a feat themselves, so naturally, none could bring themselves to utter anything contrary to their conscience.
Inside the Golden Hall.
"Useless!"
Lu Boyan's cold rebuke snapped Lu Ji back to reality.
He struck his forehead against the floor, not daring to offer a word in his defense.
They had taken advantage of the Second Prince holding down Zheng's main force to enact the Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain Stratagem. With the troops at his disposal and another nine Foundation Establishment cultivators supporting him, taking a mere Pass Gate standing wide open should have been as easy as reaching out his hand.
But everything had gone wrong when such a murderous fiend appeared midway. Lu Ji felt deeply aggrieved and wronged. What could he have done? In that situation, even if he had stuck his own head out, it would hardly have been enough for the opponent to cut off.
Yet none of that was an excuse to argue. He could only reply softly:
"I acknowledge